Story Teller | CEO | Traveler

Businesses supposedly use surveys to improve their service and product offerings all the time. The question is just how accurate are these surveys? For example, an international hotel chain recently asked me to complete a survey about their frequent stayer program of which I am a member. Here's an … [Read more...]

Planning works. A year ago, I shared The 2011 Plan and last week I shared the success story of that plan when I wrote "How to make what you write come true." Finding a planning method that works for you is, unfortunately, not so easy. I've settled on a method that combines Chris Brogan's three words … [Read more...]

For someone who had only had about 48 hours to work with Google+ pages, Shelby covered this topic well yesterday. Today I'll focus on thoughts about the potential benefits and pitfalls of a business or brand having a Google+ Page. I'll also share some basic getting started steps that worked for me. … [Read more...]

The problem with building a marketing engine that works 24/7/365 is that at some point you are going to have to filter the sales leads and business opportunities that come your way. It's not a bad problem to have but it's one you should prepare for before it hits you. My general rule of thumb is to … [Read more...]

The picture with this post was taken just as the Milwaukee Brewers won game 5 of the National League Division Series. My wife and I were at games 1 and 2 of the series as well. With one child in college and another starting next fall, I'm 100 percent sure our budget would not have allowed for this … [Read more...]

Recently, I signed up for the free version of TripIt. I liked the free version enough to give the Pro option a try. The first 30 days are free anyway, so my risk was zero. Then I found out that TripIt Pro is partnering with Regus Businessworld to include a year of free access at no additional cost. … [Read more...]

Running a business is serious but it doesn't mean you can't have a silly side. I'd argue that having a silly side probably makes you a better business person; especially if a big part of your day is interacting with others. Some of the most serious topics are best approached with a dose of … [Read more...]

This week for our She Said, He Said posts we decided to tackle social media return on investment (ROI). I lead off today with my take and Shelby will follow up tomorrow. As usual tomorrow’s post will include topics for this week’s #shehechat over on Twitter at 8 p.m. CST each Thursday evening.
Yes, … [Read more...]

Recently, I had to prepare three letters for the bank. As a small business owner, my personal finances are judged right alongside those of the business. As we worked to refinance our home, the bank wanted to know many of the details about my business. It required writing three separate letters to … [Read more...]

I probably have an advantage in small business that you just don't have. I grew up in a family that owned a small business. Okay, there's nothing you can do about it anymore than I can do anything about being 5 foot 6 inches tall. I'd love to be taller but it is never going to happen. I'm just not … [Read more...]